Growing up in Richland, Michael Slebodnik always wanted to play soldier, to the point where he'd even wear fatigues to school.

Eventually, he spent more than two decades in the Army as a helicopter pilot.

"I'm doing what I want to do," Mr. Slebodnik would tell his mother, Patricia. "And if I die, it's because this is what I wanted to do."

Mr. Slebodnik, of Clarskville, Tenn., was killed Wednesday in Afghanistan. He was shot while flying a mission and died while being transported for medical attention, according to his mother and his wife, Tanja. He was 39.

At the time of his death, Mr. Slebodnik was stationed in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, and had attained the rank of chief warrant officer, his family said.

He was a loving father and a voracious eater, but first and foremost, Mr. Slebodnik was a soldier.

"He's been in almost 22 years, and he could have easily gotten out," Tanja Slebodnik said yesterday. "He never chose that option. It's like a complete mission -- you don't leave until your mission is complete."

As a child, Mr. Slebodnik -- who was called "Mickey" -- was a talented artist and a math whiz, but his primary interest was the military. He was fascinated by the Civil War and battle strategy and developed a strong bond with his grandfather, Wade Peters, who served in World War II.

After graduating from the old Richland High School in 1987, he immediately joined the Army.

Mr. Slebodnik was an aeroscout observer during Operation Desert Storm. He later served five tours in Iraq during the current war there and began his only tour in Afghanistan in January.

He was fiercely committed to the military and frequently bemoaned the negative tone of news coverage and public opinion of Iraq when he came home. Mr. Slebodnik would tell family members that he saw progress there and conditions were better than they appeared on television.

In Afghanistan, his mother said, Mr. Slebodnik helped train other pilots and flew numerous missions himself.

But he regretted spending so much time away from home. Mr. Slebodnik had four children, ages 3 to 18, in addition to two stepsons. The family lives near Mr. Slebodnik's home base of Fort Campbell, Ky.

Eager to watch his children grow up, Mr. Slebodnik talked of retiring from the Army, especially if he eventually was assigned to a desk rather than the air. He planned to move back to the Pittsburgh area and attend college, Patricia Slebodnik said, to become a teacher.

Instead, Mr. Slebodnik will rest in Arlington National Cemetery. For his family, it's a setting as poignant as the date of Mr. Slebodnik's death -- the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.

"He died on 9/11 -- so appropriate," Patricia Slebodnik said. "My son was a soldier through and through."